Alyssa Hollingsworth

About Alyssa

Alyssa was born in small town Milton, Florida, but life as a roving military kid soon mellowed her (unintelligibly strong) Southern accent. Wanderlust is in her blood, and she’s always waiting for the wind to change. Stories remain her constant. Alyssa received her bachelor’s in English/Creative Writing from Berry College and her master's in Creative Writing for Young People from Bath Spa University. Alyssa is represented by Amber Caraveo at Skylark Literary. Her debut The Eleventh Trade – "a powerful story of love, loss, friendship and hope, centered around Sami, a young refugee from Afghanistan now building a new life with his grandfather in Boston" – will be published Fall 2018 by Macmillan (U.S.) and HotKey (U.K.).

Tips for Naming Your Series

Mar 2, 2014

I find myself unexpectedly with a set of books on my hands. Blessings started out as a straight-up standalone book, and Illuminate jumped on board as a companion book/sequel of sorts, and other ideas are still coming. It occurred to me the other day that I have an actual series, and no idea what to call it. Of course, it’s likely that whatever series title I come up with will be changed when/if it goes to publication. But I still need something to call the collective project. Are you in the same boat? Well, below I’ve compiled all the research...

Ballroom Dance and Your Characters

Feb 22, 2014

I’ve been watching copious amounts of figure skating on the Olympics (this is why I missed church two weeks in a row shhh) and it’s reminded me just now much I love dance. There is so much you can tell about a person from watching how they move. Look no further than two Russian figure skating superstars: Julia Lipnitskaia and Evgeny Plushenko. Dance is a great way to discover something about a person: How they like to move, how comfortable they are with the opposite sex (yes I am from a Jane Austen novel), what sort of music appeals to...

Describing Fashion

Feb 20, 2014

Clothes can be fun to describe, particularly if your setting is the 1700’s Venice, Medieval France, or Regency England. But when handled poorly, fashion descriptions can feel awkward, slow down a scene, or come across as an infodump. Though I am a bit indifferent to fashion in real life, I love researching costumes and making style guides for my characters. Sometimes I go to museums and pick out which suits suit (haha see what I did there???) my male character, as if I’m at a mall and am going to walk out with it for him. But despite my obsession,...

5 Ways to Use Sound When Writing

Feb 15, 2014

Sound is one of the most powerful ways to get into a scene, and when utilized can help your writing flow easier. Below are my favorite tips for using sound to kick you into writing mode (from least to most obvious). 5. Make the sounds of your scene on your computer. Credit for this idea goes to friend/classmate Annie (who is awesome). With an app like White Noise, you can actually create the sound of your scene. Characters are walking near a harbor? No problem. Character’s are sitting by a fire? You got it. Place yourself in the center of...

Easy Tricks for Editing

Jan 29, 2014

I’ve just finished reading through my WIP, Blessings, in under 24 hours, and I noticed a few things: My revision techniques really saved me from any terrible transgressions in passive voice (FINALLY. HUZZAH!!!). I still could be more thorough in pinpointing my weaknesses and attacking them head-on. I thought I’d share the tricks I’m learning, which just might help expedite your future revision goals! (more…)

The Madwoman’s Outlining Technique

Jan 27, 2014

Since my WIP, Illuminate, is also the thesis project for my graduate program, I don’t have as much time as I’m used to for fiddling around and rewriting stuff. The logical response? Go absolutely crazy. Step 1: Make Character Arcs for Everyone. The Interwebs contain lots of great information about character arcs, so in brief: In the course of a story, characters will respond to conflict on an external and internal level, and by the conclusion characters will undergo some sort of change. This creates story arcs. Every book has at least one major arc. I personally like Doug Tennapel’s...

My Rheumatoid Arthritis Story

Jan 25, 2014

I’ve just passed my six year anniversary of the first time I felt symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis. Honestly I spend most of my time doing my best to not dwell on this stuff, but I feel like I need to look into the past and share it. Everyone’s journey is important, even if it is sucktastic sometimes, and maybe hearing mine will help others with theirs. (more…)

Tips for Surviving College: Do the Occasional Crazy Thing

Jan 21, 2014

This may seem counter to all my [insanely structure-based] tips earlier, but sometimes you just need to… Blow your schedule out the window. (more…)

Tips for Surviving College: Rest Intentionally and Work in Bursts

Jan 19, 2014

The third part of my secret to survive college with three jobs and a full load of courses? Use your time intentionally. (more…)

Tips for Surviving College: Make Lists

Jan 6, 2014

The second part of my tips for surviving college with the Power of Being Intentional and Organized. Again, my methods probably won’t work for everyone, but I hope they can be adapted to help you not be that kid who spends college running after the deadlines that got away. Get a note-taking device JUST for lists. (more…)

About Alyssa

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